It's amazing how many good FAs are on the market this year. It makes me wonder if I'm overvalueing some of these veterans. I don't see the harm if you can get them cheap on short contracts. But it seems like every team just won't touch them with a 10 foot pole.

Do they really think they're gonna hit on all 7 draft picks?

Makes me wonder if theres some kind of agreement btw owners. Bc no one is even trying to drive up the price or outcompete everyone else for these guys. And teams have money. It's not like there's no money to spend.

It's amazing how many good FAs are on the market this year. It makes me wonder if I'm overvalueing some of these veterans. I don't see the harm if you can get them cheap on short contracts. But it seems like every team just won't touch them with a 10 foot pole.

Do they really think they're gonna hit on all 7 draft picks?

Makes me wonder if theres some kind of agreement btw owners. Bc no one is even trying to drive up the price or outcompete everyone else for these guys. And teams have money. It's not like there's no money to spend.

interesting point. It does seem like players arent in a hurry to get a deal done as well

Don't know why people wanted to doubt Ozzie early in this off-season anyway. The mans track record speaks for itself, he knows what he's doing and he's not handing out big contracts to guys who aren't worth it. Their defense will be better next year for sure.

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Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

It's messed up to say, but losing Ray Lewis and Ed Reed alone actually greatly improves their defense in all likelihood, unless I'm underestimating their craftiness. But probably not.

Then they improved their pass rush on top of that. The CB they lost has his replacement waiting in the wings anyway in Jimmy Smith. ILB is an ILB. Pollard is very replaceable. They didn't lose anyone significant.

It's messed up to say, but losing Ray Lewis and Ed Reed alone actually greatly improves their defense in all likelihood, unless I'm underestimating their craftiness. But probably not.

Then they improved their pass rush on top of that. The CB they lost has his replacement waiting in the wings anyway in Jimmy Smith. ILB is an ILB. Pollard is very replaceable. They didn't lose anyone significant.

Maybe Boldin. That's about it.

the funny thing is that if you said this a year ago every ravens fan would have called you ******* insane, now they are all just gonna agree....lol

While there are a ton of quality free agents available, it does sound to me like they are overvaluing themselves quite a bit. There are a lot of flags for various reasons (age, injury, stupidity, etc.) and it seems like the players/agents are trying to get deals that aren't going to happen without heavy incentives.

Adrian Wilson is a good example of a guy who signed a good deal that could pay him well if he's 2011 Wilson. Otherwise it will pay him what a long-in-the-tooth, 2 down safety is worth.

I just see a lot of average, role player type guys who seem to think they should land 4+ years @ 4M+ per and that's a stupid expectation. (EDIT: unless you're a mega stud like Walden or Arrington, then it's totally worth it.)

But it goes against previous trends. In the past, most FAs were overpaid, if not all.

Now you're seeing a select few get overpaid, but the majority are getting reasonable contracts. The odd thing about that is, with more $ available to spend on FAs, you would think the opposite trend would occur and more FAs would get overpaid, but the exact opposite happened.

While there are a ton of quality free agents available, it does sound to me like they are overvaluing themselves quite a bit. There are a lot of flags for various reasons (age, injury, stupidity, etc.) and it seems like the players/agents are trying to get deals that aren't going to happen without heavy incentives.

Adrian Wilson is a good example of a guy who signed a good deal that could pay him well if he's 2011 Wilson. Otherwise it will pay him what a long-in-the-tooth, 2 down safety is worth.

I just see a lot of average, role player type guys who seem to think they should land 4+ years @ 4M+ per and that's a stupid expectation. (EDIT: unless you're a mega stud like Walden or Arrington, then it's totally worth it.)

the contracts for free agents have gotten exponentially bigger the last few years...like ridiculously so, we may be hitting a plateau and it might be catching the players off guard

I don't get all the fuss over this Michael Huff deal. He's a below average safety in the league. Hasn't been good in about three years. Sure, the Ravens got him for cheap but you can get plenty of players of Huff's caliber for that money. Kerry Rhodes is a better player and can probably be had for a similar price.

I don't get all the fuss over this Michael Huff deal. He's a below average safety in the league. Hasn't been good in about three years. Sure, the Ravens got him for cheap but you can get plenty of players of Huff's caliber for that money. Kerry Rhodes is a better player and can probably be had for a similar price.

Huff is obviously not what he was supposed to be coming out Texas. At the same time, he is still an nfl starting caliber safety that has enough flexibility to play CB/Slot.

You add the flexibility with the deal, i think it is very good find for Baltimore.

__________________Sig by the King BK

Fear the Spear - Winston Era has begun....

Quote:

"I wasn't going to lose to Miami, no matter what," Freeman said. "It means a lot to go out there and beat them. Every time I get a chance, I want to destroy them."

But it goes against previous trends. In the past, most FAs were overpaid, if not all.

Now you're seeing a select few get overpaid, but the majority are getting reasonable contracts. The odd thing about that is, with more $ available to spend on FAs, you would think the opposite trend would occur and more FAs would get overpaid, but the exact opposite happened.

Because EVERYONE is shooting for the draft now, as a means to supplement their roster. You can draft a great player, pay him peanuts for the first 4-5 years, and maneuver your cap in the process to retain your own talent. The teams who normally make big splashes in free agency are the talent deprived teams with a ton of camp room, looking to get competitive quick or contenders looking for a few pieces to get them over the hump. But ideally, if you can draft well, and just use free agency as means to add depth and role players to your core, then you can dictate the marketplace because you can be choosy and wait out agents who try to inflate their players worth. Top tier FAs will always get their money. Its the second level and middle tier guys who now see their marketplace shrink due to the appeal of rookies and their minimal contracts. The media puts waaaaay too much emphasis on the first 48 hours of free agency. It's chess not checkers....you wait out all the excitement and early wheeling and dealing. Then you sit back, analyze the market, check the personnel landscape, then grab as many talented players at bargain prices, as you can afford.

I don't get all the fuss over this Michael Huff deal. He's a below average safety in the league. Hasn't been good in about three years. Sure, the Ravens got him for cheap but you can get plenty of players of Huff's caliber for that money. Kerry Rhodes is a better player and can probably be had for a similar price.

Actually he has been a good, not great safety for a few years now. And its his versatility that makes him attractive. The guy played slot CB last year and was solid. How many safeties have that ability? You can do alot, scheme wise, with a guy with that kind of ability. That is where his value lies.

Because EVERYONE is shooting for the draft now, as a means to supplement their roster. You can draft a great player, pay him peanuts for the first 4-5 years, and maneuver your cap in the process to retain your own talent. The teams who normally make big splashes in free agency are the talent deprived teams with a ton of camp room, looking to get competitive quick or contenders looking for a few pieces to get them over the hump. But ideally, if you can draft well, and just use free agency as means to add depth and role players to your core, then you can dictate the marketplace because you can be choosy and wait out agents who try to inflate their players worth. Top tier FAs will always get their money. Its the second level and middle tier guys who now see their marketplace shrink due to the appeal of rookies and their minimal contracts. The media puts waaaaay too much emphasis on the first 48 hours of free agency. It's chess not checkers....you wait out all the excitement and early wheeling and dealing. Then you sit back, analyze the market, check the personnel landscape, then grab as many talented players at bargain prices, as you can afford.

What you've said is no different from before. That's always been the case. Yet we have a ton of players left on the market who normally would be scooped up by now.

I am starting to think, as others have eluded to in here, that the qb market is killing the rest of the cap for everybody. Teams are forced to pay so much for quarterbacks that they simply can't spread the wealth with the remainder of the cap around so essentially everyone else is starting to make less than before with the cap staying flat.